


about the scars ...

by hiddinginshadows



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: A drabble from a piece I am working on, Katara is the daughter of a gym leader, Pokemon AU, Zuko is the son of the Champion, katara comforting, they are on Ember Island, waiting to head to the capital to take on the final gym leader and then the elite four, zuko talking about his scar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25110940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddinginshadows/pseuds/hiddinginshadows
Summary: The Gaang takes a break on Ember Island before heading to the Fire Nation Capital to face the final Gym Leader and then the Elite Four before taking on the Champion. (A small drabble from a larger Pokemon AU I am working on. Zutara Heart to Heart.)
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), implied zutara - Relationship
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	about the scars ...

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a small portion of a large fic I am working on for a Pokemon AU for A:tla. It's going to follow Katara and Sokka's adventure to find their father, the missing Gym Leader of the Southern Water Tribe. Along the way they encounter Aang, a Leader in Training, Toph, a secret trainer, and constantly cross paths with Zuko, the Champion's son. 
> 
> This is a part in the fic where Zuko has finally joined the group and they are far in their journey, about to go battle the final Gym Leader and then taken on the Elite Four. I know it's a little weird that all of them are together for this, but it will make more sense when the REAL fic comes out. But for now, enjoy this little small taste of the AU!

They sit by the fire, flames crackling and licking up into the night sky. He can hear the sounds of the others inside of the beach home behind him, soft music playing as they took a moment to celebrate, to simply be teenagers who are on their Trainer journeys. Zuko feels the pin in his hand grow warmer as he twists it in his fingers, his father’s old gym badge. Next to him Druk grunts and the young man reaches out, patting the Typhlosin on his back as the Pokemon settles next to his owner, the flames around his neck shuttering. Zuko looks out towards the horizon where the slightest sliver of light comes from the capital. 

“What are you doing out here?” Katara’s voice carries over the night air and Kya’s usual chirp follows. It doesn’t take long until the girl is sitting next to him on the beach and her Empoleon settles next to her. “Don’t want to join the festivities?”

“Just a little tired,” Zuko stops playing with the pin and looks over to the Southern Water Tribe girl. Powerful trainer, daughter of the Southern Gym Leader, possibly the future Gym Leader. “What about you?”

She looks out towards the water, hands on her knees. She shrugs and leans forward, pressing her cheek onto her knee and looking toward him. Her eyes flash down to where Druk is, the Typhlosion now gently snoring as Zuko mindlessly runs his hand over the Pokemon’s back. 

“How long have you had him?”

“Since I was eight,” Zuko smiles when he looks toward the Pokemon, “it’s a custom in the Fire Nation for the parent to go to a nursery for their child for their eighth birthday and pick out a Starter for them. My father said … Druk was the runt, the last Cyndaquil left.”

“Well he definitely doesn’t look like a runt to me,” Katara snorts.

And it’s true, because Druk had evolved into a massive Typhlosion, larger than most Zuko has seen, except for wild ones. Even the prestige breeders didn’t have Typhlosions as large. Zuko nods and then removes his hand as Druk turns to his side, grumbling in his sleep. 

“No offence to you or your Pokemon,” Katara extends her legs, “but I kinda figured that the Champion would, you know, get the strongest Pokemon for his kids. Why did he pick a runt?”

Zuko is quiet for a moment, the pin in his hand flipping through his fingers again. 

“Because he said I deserved him,” Zuko mumbles, “I was born in the middle of a winter night, a bad omen in the Fire Nation. He said that I was a runt myself, so it only made sense that I had a runt Pokemon. He said I was lucky to be born, just like Druk.”

“Zuko …,”

“I know now that my father wasn’t kind to me, didn’t -- doesn’t, love me. I don’t think he even loves Azula but … she is still working for him. I can’t believe it took so long for me to realize …,”

“But you did realize,” Katara reaches out and rests a hand on his forearm, her fingers cold against his skin, “and now you’re with us.”

Zuko swallows thickly and nods, but his heart still strains to believe her. 

“In the Southern Water Tribe,” Katara starts, letting her hand fall from his arm and her fingers begin to draw circles in the sand, “you go on a mission with your parents to find your first Pokemon. I remember when Sokka came back with his Oshawott, all he did was talk about how cool it had been that his Pokemon threw a shell just like his boomerang. But he never told people about how he had thrown his shell right into Sokka’s forehead. He had a bump for weeks!”

Zuko chuckles at the story. 

“How did you find Kya?”

Katara’s face falters for a moment and then she looks at her Pokemon. The Empoleon is settled into her neck feathers, eyes closed as she sleeps peacefully next to her human partner.

“After my mother had died, I didn’t even want to get a Pokemon. I was so scared that I would lose them just like my mom lost hers. I was actually out on a fishing trip with Sokka and Oshawott, and we heard crying. We followed the sound and there was this little Piplup just stranded on an iceberg. We looked around to try and find her parents but … nothing. So, I lured it onto the canoe and we took it back to the village to nurse it back to health. After a few days of her following me I finally realized that she had decided to pick me as her partner.”

“Seems almost like destiny,” Zuko says, looking toward the Empoleon. 

Katara chuckles at that and then leans back on her hands, glancing back over to Druk. The Typhlosion shifts and now the ragged burn scar on his flank could be seen, a deep pink. Zuko’s chest tightens at the sight, but Druk simply grunts and opens a single eye, sensing his partner’s discomfort. He lets out a puff of smoke through his nose and Zuko rolls his eyes at the Pokemon. 

“How did he … get the scar?” Katara asks after a moment. It gets quiet for a moment and Zuko can sense her discomfort. He looks down at the pin in his hand then up towards the sky, thinking of the day.

“I was thirteen,” he starts, “and my Uncle had convinced my father to let me sit in on one of the meetings for Team Phoenix. It was about going into a small Earth Kingdom village with a team of grunts to try and find a good location in the area where Fairy-Types lived. But, as they were discussing I had noticed that most of the Pokemon assigned to those grunts were Flying and Fire types. They wouldn’t stand a chance against the common native Earth Kingdom Pokemon, and I spoke up. One of the higher-up grunts got offended and said I didn’t know what I was talking about and how I was too young to understand their plans. So, I challenged him to a battle,

“Druk was pretty well trained, he had evolved into Quilava already, so I figured it would be okay. The conditions were a one-versus-one in the indoor batting field. So, when I arrived and saw the grunt on the side-lines I was confused. Turns out that challenging the plans and asking for a battle wasn’t me defying the grunt’s orders, but my father’s. 

“He sent out his Charizard and all I had was Druk. I tried to back out, to forfeit, but my father … he wouldn't allow it. So, when Charizard attacked I-I tried to return Druk, but he wouldn’t listen and he stood in front of me instead. Most of the fire was absorbed in his own, but he got … burned pretty badly on his flank, and the fire that went past him struck me. After the attack was over, he finally returned to his PokeBall.”

He hears her sharp intake of breath and her cool hand reach for his warm one, fingers tightening around his own. Zuko closes his eyes and sighs, his breath shaking from the memory.

“I could tell Druk had been hurt pretty bad because the light on his PokeBall kept flashing, but when I asked, begged for him to be healed, I was denied because … because I needed to learn my lesson. Now my lesson is displayed for everyone to see … on me and him.”

“Zuko …,” her voice trails over and he can hear the tears in her voice.

“I’m okay now,” Zuko smiles to her, “honestly, I’ve learned … I learned my lesson, but probably not the one he wanted me to learn. I realized on that day that even though I wanted him to love me, even though I wanted him to accept me, I would never be able to be like him. He always wanted me to be the strong one, to transition over to the Championship title after he was too old, hinted to it all the time but … Azula was the perfect child. It only took me another four years to realize he could never accept me and finally walk away from his rule.”

“You were just a kid, are a kid, he shouldn’t have ever done that to you.”

“I know now,” Zuko squeezes her hand and smiles sheepishly, “and Druk figured out how to ignore the call of his PokeBall so now he wont even go in it while battling unless he has defeated his opponent.”

Druk grunts behind him, the flames around his neck flaring for a moment with irritation. Zuko rolls his eyes and lets Katara’s hand go. She snickers at the Typhlosion’s irritation with it’s human partner. 

Someone from behind them calls their names and the two turn to see Toph in the doorway, her hand on her Excadrill’s back, the Pokemon’s claws pressed against the ground as it felt for Zuko and Katara’s vibrations.

“Thank you for sharing with me,” Katara smiles to him and stands up, dusting the sand from her legs, “back when we were in the tunnels, when we first really talked, I had a feeling that … that things weren’t as black and white as you were making them out to be. But I never realized …,”

“Thank you for listening, Katara,” he stands up as well and then nudges Druk with his foot, who groans, “I haven’t really shared that with anyone else. The only people who know what actually happened were the witnesses at the battle. So if you don’t mind not telling the others … I’m not really ready for that.”

“Of course, Zuko,” She gives him a soft smile and reaches out, “I’m here if you ever need to talk more. Now, let’s go pretend to be normal for a little.”

He takes her hand in his own and it feels good, right. He smiles as she tugs him along. He hears their Pokemon following behind them and thinks of the first time they had battled. Now, the two Pokemon are practically leaning on each other sleepily as they follow their trainers. 

Hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If you have any comments or questions, let me know! When I do the fic I will make sure to included everyone's team at the end of the fic once introduced. Thanks guys!


End file.
